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Happy Halloween, Members!
The leaves are turning, and some spots had
a little frost on the pumpkins for the first time last night. There will
be more coming. Remember, a frost at night means a clear and crisp
morning, good for flying. Give the airplane a little TLC by preheating,
and give the oil time to warm up before takeoff. Then go enjoy the fall
colors, especially meandering along the creeks or the lake shores. This
is the time for slow airplanes and low flying — the sport pilots have an
edge here.
It seems Gainesville Memorial is still popular as a “hundred-dollar
hamburger” destination at this time of year, as two airplanes from the
local area arrived to enjoy the food at Carla’s Country Cafe across the
street from the airport. You will recognize one of the airplanes in the
picture as the famous Black Bart!
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H27 arrivals for $100 hamburgers |
Fearless airport watch-kitty |
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Photographs by
Sue Kalhoefer |
Fly-In & Open House
We ushered in the fall flying season with
our First Annual Fly-In and Open House. It was a great success, and we
are already thinking of the Second Annual one. At first the weather
looked iffy, but it soon became apparent that the cloud layer was high
enough, the temperature mild, and wind almost nonexistent, making it so
everyone who wanted to fly in could fly in. Not only did we have lots of
airplanes flying in, but lots of people drove in.
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Early fly-in and drive-in attendees |
Another happy Young Eagle |
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Photographs by
Henny Christensen |
We did not plan on flying Young Eagles at this event, but four
youngsters who were there early got rides anyway. Another one signed up
to take a ride at a later date.
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The day started with a great pilots’ fly-in
breakfast in Ron White’s hangar. |
Entertainment by the West Plains square dancers |
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Photographs by
Sue Kalhoefer |
Photograph by Henny Christensen |
Upon arrival, members and visitors were greeted with an open hangar and
a tummy-warming breakfast. That’s where conversation started, and it
continued for the rest of the day.
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Airplanes belonging to members are lined up early
and show well. They generated a lot of interest throughout the day. |
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Photographs by
Sue Kalhoefer |
There were all kinds of airplanes in attendance — beautifully restored
warbirds, nice older production aircraft, beautiful experimentals, and a
variety of neat RC models. We loved watching them coming in, going out,
making low passes, and doing a little bit of silly stuff.
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Taildragger and nosedragger versions — both
beautiful. |
How about that — another Stearman. |
And a T-34 belonging to Harry Cooper, copiloted
by Bill Jonmeyer. |
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Photographs by
Sue Kalhoefer |
Everywhere we looked, we saw people in conversation groups, renewing old
acquaintances and making new ones. Clusters of people wandered among the
parked airplanes and gave them a close looking-over, and the phrase “I
remember when…” was heard a few times. Occasionally, people would wander
into the hangar and grab some refreshments, then back outside to talk
and watch some more.
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Ron Cox demonstrated some excellent flying with
his RC model. |
Lionel Smith did a couple of low passes — and
joined the Chapter. |
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Photographs by
Sue Kalhoefer & Henny Christensen |
The square dance group from West Plains provided some entertainment, and
the RC modellers showed us some neat aerobatics with airplanes that fly
like real ones, but are controlled by mysterious means. These things
(and flight simulators, too) stump most of us. Even some curious
buzzards hung around to try to figure them out — and we remembered the
bald eagle that showed up when the Wright Flyer was tested, and hasn’t
been seen since.
The four hours allotted to the Open House passed very quickly. During
that time, three members honored a request from the Chamber of Commerce
in Mountain Grove to do a fly-over of the town square during their Fall
Festival. We later heard that it was announced on the square and all
activity stopped so people could both see and hear as the three
airplanes made two passes.
In the early afternoon, airplane engines were once again started, and we
enjoyed watching each one as it took off, heading for home at the end of
a pleasant day.
October Meeting
We have several new members, so once again
we all introduced ourselves early in the meeting. Lionel Smith is a
longtime friend of many in the Chapter, and many others know his name
even if they haven’t met him previously. Welcome to the Chapter, Lionel,
and thank you for the brief entertainment you provided with your
airplane over the runway!
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We were tired but happy that the fly-in went so
well. Everybody seems to agree that we will do it again next year. |
Decorations and equipment are necessary for
success. |
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Photographs by
Sue Kalhoefer |
The Nominating Committee reported that the slate of candidates for
office will remain the same as for 2007. That is, Tom White for
President, Berlin Batesel for Vice President, Phyllis White for
Secretary, Jim Vokac for Treasurer, and John Smith for Board Member at
Large. Does that mean that they were unable to find any members willing
to take on the task of filling an office for one year? Let’s hope not.
Being an officer is not an insurmountable task, and everyone should have
the experience at least once. There will be an opportunity for
nominations from the floor at the meeting.
Dues for 2008
It is the time of year when the Treasurer
starts collecting Chapter dues. Remember, Chapter dues do not coincide
with National dues. All Chapter dues are late after the end of January,
when the membership roster for the year must be submitted to HQ. Please
be sure Jim has your National membership number when you pay your dues.
Also, if your dues are late, you won’t be included in the 2008 Chapter
1218 Member Directory because your intentions can only be guessed. If
not all the members are listed, the Directory has limited usefulness.
November Meeting
The November meeting will be one of Chapter 1218’s now famous breakfast
potlucks. During last year’s “cold months” we discovered the wonderful
breakfast creativity of our members. Now it’s time to enjoy that again.
How quickly the days and months pass. This month the meeting will be on
the first Saturday because of the start of deer season on the second
Saturday. Take the opportunity to fly in if the weather is good.
Daylight Savings Time ends Saturday night, but the sun will be up in
time on Saturday morning to make it possible to be there by 09:00. The
date is November 3.
New Pilots
Nobody who is interested in flying goes unnoticed in this area for very
long. Carl King, who purchased Lloyd’s Cessna 150, is starting his
lessons with Bill Newton. Carl already visited at the last MPA meeting,
and we hope to welcome him to meetings at Chapter 1218.
The Newsletter
Now that the newsletter is being sent by e-mail, we have a few members
(and a few nonmembers) who will no longer get the newsletter because
they don’t have Internet accounts. There is always the option to sign up
for a free account at the local library. Or, members in the same
telephone exchange could make a courtesy phone call to remind them of
meetings and events of interest, perhaps even print off a copy for them
while printing their own copy. HQ sent a message saying “going to an
electronic version is a good idea. Many Chapters have done so with the
rising costs of postage and printing.” Plans are in the works to make a
CD with the entire collection of Chapter newsletters through 2007 after
the first of the year. This will be deposited in the Chapter library.
Young Eagles
The season for Young Eagles rallies is now
over. But don’t let that stop you from making individual flights with
kids when the opportunity arises. The kids don’t care whether it’s at a
rally or a special flight just for them. We have used a number of ways
to get the word out that rallies are connected with meeting dates in
Willow Springs, and it is starting to show some results. The total
number of kids flown by members this year to date is 58, more than we
expected to have.
Eleven pilots participated this year. Their totals are:
Mike Vaughn - 12
Bob Obert - 12
Mike White - 8
Bob Bohemier - 7
Sue Kalhoefer - 7
Jerry Luna - 3
Jim Evertsen - 2
Tom White - 2
Benny Butler - 1
Ben Hurtt - 1
John Smith -1 |
If you fly a Young Eagle, be sure to
get your paperwork in before the end of the year.
So, to wrap up, the November meeting will be on Saturday, November 3, at
09:00, at the Chapter hangar in Willow Springs, starting with breakfast.
Bring a dish for the breakfast potluck. Fly in or drive in. See you
there. Until then, tailwinds!
We Celebrate
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November & Early
December
Birthdays
November 6: Arnie Zimmerman
November 11: Marge Allen
November 14: Clint Allen
November 19: Pat Wiley
November 23: Roddy Clark
November 26: Bob Brantley
November 29: Henny Christensen
December 1: Doc Openshaw
December 4: Carolyn Wolford
Anniversaries
November 7: Bob & Kathy Bohemier
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